Fatal Nights
by AnimeSiren
Summary: Ninja learn not to sleep at night because they may be so defensible on the outside, but they're practically vulnerable on the inside. Naruto learns this from a nightmare.


**Fatal Nights**

_Enjoy_

**X-_X-_X**

A ninja never really has a calm night of dreams, or even a moment of non fractured, unimagined, simple sleep. There's always a pulse of caution, or a heartbeat of terror that keeps an experienced shinobi from ever being completely at ease sleeping.

A ninja has hours of intensity, they relive past atrocities and are forced into dreams of those atrocities yet to come. Death is the least of the dreams. When you lead a life of torture and assassination it tends to bleed from reality and into your subconscious.

Uzumaki Naruto did not escape the traditions of nighttime ninja civilization. He hosted the terrors of night with unique abandon. Uzumaki Naruto knew of darkness. He knew of the frailty of human life and the unimagined qualities that were necessary to live breath after breath.

The latest night, hosted by stars and a mostly empty moon, found Naruto buried deep into his consciousness. It wasn't necessarily his own dreams he was seeing. But it was his own fears being shown to him.

"You are weak," a voice said to him. When he opened his eyes and looked around at his dream self he found that he was in the body of a child again. He cringed unwillingly in fear when the voice spoke again. It sounded like violence, and like bloodthirsty rage. "You are nothing."

Naruto looked around him but could discover no one tangible person or thing. "I'm not weak," he protested. He could feel the hair on his neck spike and rise.

"You will let them die," the voice spoke again. It was taunting him.

"I won't let anyone die!" he shouted back, his child's voice echoing as he spun in place. "Who are you?"

"Your friend's blood will pool at your feet. Their bodies will line the walls around you. Their heads will roll in front of you, stepping stones at every stage of your life."

Naruto stilled and stopped breathing; the faces of his friends began to flash before his mind. Young and old, long known or new, he saw everyone.

"The sweet Hyuuga blossom of an heiress will meet a most bittersweet end," the voice daunted. "She will fall defending the one man that she admired most as a girl. Really, she's quite attractive with a kunai sticking out of her temple."

Child-Naruto shuddered at the sound of evil glee filled guffawing that pushed its way into his mind. How did this voice know anything about Hinata? How did this voice know what his fears were?

"You should just see what that sack of lazy bones, Shikamaru, has in store for him!"

Naruto glared defiantly out into the darkness, the darkness spoke back. "It will be truly _troublesome_."

"All his strategy is going to be unable to save him," it continued, stretching the last syllable out in a demented song. "He's going to calculate who it is that Konoha needs more. He's going to be torn apart layer by layer and send you home safe in one piece."

"Shikamaru," Naruto muttered in shock. Whatever this curse was is was now giving him pictures of this malignant like predicted future. Visions that formed from wisps of smoke solidified around him.

"Oh, you should feel bad about the kind little cherry blossom," Naruto wasn't sure to call what was speaking to him a spirit or a demon.

"No!" stuttered out Naruto. Why was he being forced to suffer this way?

"They won't even find the corpse!" it replied gleefully. "Her cut out heart will be sent to the Rokudaime along with the most beautiful set of artwork. Those cloud-nin are really going to enjoy her in a few years."

Naruto fell to his knees, and he clutched at his chest tightly. Why was this demon saying these tings? He would never let his friends down; he will protect them with his own life.

"One by one," the darkness replied. "They're going to die horrible, gruesome deaths, and it is going to be _all you fault_."

"No!" Naruto shouted out again. "I'll protect them, believe it!"

"You're too weak!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, _you are_!"

Naruto awoke with a shout and a shiver; the blankets were pulled haphazardly around the side of his bed. His room was empty and cool air was coming in from the window. The village seemed peaceful and quiet.

He noticed something.

His shirt was pulled up and he was holding a razor sharp kunai to the seal on his stomach, it was shaking in his grasp. His hands were sweating and his lungs felt like they couldn't take in enough air. What was he supposed to think of what had just happened?

"It was just a dream," muttered Naruto, imbedding the kunai in the wall across the room. He reluctantly tried to sleep again, however he only ended up rising for training early, and spending some brooding time alone.

Ninja learn not to sleep at night.

**X-_X-_X**

**Interesting I thought. I made this into a one-shot, not for its length but for its content, it's a bit more intensified than my usual drabble publications. Thanks for reading!**


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